Toddy Takedown: Press Coffee Roasters vs. Cartel Coffee Lab

Toddy-style brewed iced coffee is better than hot drip for a few reasons. First of all, the acidity levels are lower in cold-brewed coffee, making it more drinkable in those indigestion-filled crunch times. It's also higher in caffeine, which means you pretty much only need one cup to keep you going through the workday. We love the more complex flavor of the toddy, which is why we had to know which local coffee roaster did it best.

The Setup: Local news personality Tram Mai dipped her toes in the coffee roasting pool in 2008 and quickly expanded it to several other locations, including Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. The simple, bright coffee shop in Scottsdale Quarter is a great place to chill out and grab a cup of joe while shopping.

The Good: Press offers several different sizes for toddy so you can caffeinate exactly to your specifications. Unfortunately, we weren't wild about the product we got.

The Bad: For an iced coffee, Press' toddy would be run-of-the-mill. However, for boutique-roasted beans with special brewing techniques, the bitterness of their toddy was just baffling. It pretty much just tasted like a hot-brewed drip that had been iced.